


Rebound

by CarolPeletier



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Smut, Friends to Lovers, Friendship/Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-16
Updated: 2015-06-22
Packaged: 2018-04-04 17:57:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,359
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4147353
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CarolPeletier/pseuds/CarolPeletier
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Carol is newly divorced.  Daryl is newly single.  They're best friends.  Can an experiment in dating lead them both to something they never expected to find?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing from The Walking Dead.  All characters belong to the creators of the comic books and the television series.

Rebound

Chapter 1

Carol Peletier was a free woman.  After eight years of marriage to the cheating, whoring piece of shit, Ed Peletier, she was officially, finally free.  Her divorce was officially final, and tonight, she was going to be celebrating with her closest friends.  She was settled around a little table at Axel’s Bar and Grill, and there was just one person missing, and that one person was whom she kept poking her head up to search the crowd for. 

“He’s coming,” Michonne promised, sliding another shot glass Carol’s way.  “He’ll be here.”

“He said he’d be here,” Carol murmured, worrying her lip between her teeth.

“And when does Daryl ever not live up to his promises?” Michonne reminded her.  “He’ll be here.  Let’s get you drunk.”

“Maybe I shouldn’t get drunk.  Maybe I should enjoy this night stone cold sober.  It’s a good feeling.  It is.”

“But after what you put up with for eight years, you deserve a drink,” Michonne replied.  “If I remember right, the night I kicked Mike’s ass to the curb, you showed up on my doorstep with a bottle of Tequila and some god awful donuts.”

“I made those donuts!”

“They were terrible.  Carol, darling, you’re a beautiful cook, but your donuts are shit.”

“Thanks,” Carol laughed, bringing the shot glass to her lips and downing whatever the hell it was Michonne had ordered her.  She winced as the burn filled her throat and nostrils. “God!  What was that?”

“I don’t remember,” Michonne cackled, shoving another shot her way.  “Drink up.  I’m here to make sure you don’t throw up on anybody, especially me, or on yourself.  I’m also here to make sure you don’t do anything stupid like crawl into the lap of a perfect stranger.  I’m your designated driver; I’m your referee when it comes to bad judgment calls tonight.  So you better believe I’ve got your back.  And then maybe Daryl’ll have your back when he gets here, and I can go home and sleep.  Whatever happens between the two of you, well, that’s just icing on the cake.”

“Michonne!  Daryl’s my friend.”

“Yeah, a friend that you look at with hungry eyes whenever he’s not looking directly at you,” Michonne murmured.

“It’s not like that.  I swear,” Carol snorted, taking down another shot.  “Daryl’s…Daryl.  Besides, he’s been seeing that…that…what’s her name.”

“The brunette with watermelons in her bra? Yeah.  Sadie something.  Well, a little birdie told me they haven’t even messed around yet.”

“Please,” Carol muttered with an eye roll.  “They’ve been dating for a month.  Daryl was pretty hard up before they got together, so you can’t tell me he hasn’t slept with her.”

“He hasn’t.”

“Right.  And what little birdie whispered that in your ear?” Carol asked, getting an eyebrow raise out of Michonne.  Michonne looked over her shoulder, pursing her lips into a smirk before leaning forward and setting her gaze straight on Carol’s.

“Daryl himself.”

“What?”  Carol suddenly felt a bolt of jealousy surge right through her.  It wasn’t right, and she knew it.  Daryl and Michonne were friends, so of course, they’d talk, but Carol had known Daryl since high school.  They’d remained close even after Carol married that piece of shit, and Daryl had gone through a few messy, dysfunctional relationships that always ended up with him nursing a bottle of Jack and her reassuring him that he’d find the one someday.  He’d always snort and quip back with ‘oh, like you found your knight in shining armor?  Which secretary is he fuckin’ this week, again?’

“He told me.  And he also told me he’s breaking up with her, because he just doesn’t feel like it’s going anywhere.”  Michonne noticed the hurt expression in Carol’s eyes, one that Carol quickly tried to mask by shrugging and taking another shot.  “What was that?”

“What was what?”

“That look.  What’s up?”

“Nothing.”

“If there’s anything shittier than your donuts, it’s your lying.  Now tell me.” 

“He hasn’t talked to me,” Carol admitted with a sigh.  “He usually talks to me about everything.  But with Sadie?  He hasn’t said much.”

“Well, you’ve been busy getting Ed out of your life.  Maybe he didn’t want to trouble you with his relationship problems when your own were a hundred times worse?”

“Maybe,” Carol considered. 

“Ladies!” came the familiar voice from behind, as Daryl Dixon put one arm around Michonne’s shoulder and then Carol’s, standing in between them in an awkward group hug.

“Oh good, he’s almost as drunk as you already.  This _will_ be fun,” Michonne teased.  Daryl never got touchy-feely with anybody unless he was under the influence, and when he was nice and toasted, he’d reach out to those he was most comfortable with.  “I’m a single man today.  Buy me a drink.”

“Tonight’s about Carol,” Michonne reminded him. 

“No,” Carol said with a shrug.  “If we’re celebrating the end of crappy relationships, then let’s buy the man a drink, Michonne.”  Michonne shrugged and raised her hand up, getting the attention of a waitress wearing a skimpy belly shirt and a shorter than short skirt.  Her nametag read Rosita.

“A Jack and coke for my friend here,” Michonne offered.  “And maybe a date, because he’s single today.”

“Sorry,” Rosita said with a grin.  “I’m taken.  Oh, and I’m gay.  But I can totally ask my girlfriend.  Tara’s pretty cool.”  She grinned to show she was teasing, but clearly not kidding about the gay part.  “One Jack and coke coming up.” 

“Don’t set me up,” Daryl groaned.  “Don’t need no woman.”

“Unless you want to spend the rest of your life making love to your hand, then you probably shouldn’t go by that motto,” Michonne replied.

“You ok, Pookie?” Carol asked, placing her hand on his shoulder, giving it a little squeeze.  “You need some rebound sex in the bathroom? Because, I’m game.”  She was teasing. She was always teasing, but the way he looked at her just then told her he was actually considering it, even if he knew she was teasing.  Then a grin spread over his face, and they both began to laugh. 

“You two need a minute alone, because I could just…”  She pointed toward the bar, and Carol kicked her foot under the table. 

“So what’re we having?”

“Besides the mountains of alcohol?” Carol asked.  “Michonne?”

“I have plans.  Big plans,” Michonne said with a mischievous grin.  “After listening to you two tonight, I’m going to need a drink of my own, and there’s no way I’m driving your drunk asses all the way across town, so you’re both staying with me tonight.”

“A sleepover?” Daryl muttered.  “We five or somethin’?”  Michonne just shrugged, and she turned to head over to the bar. 

“I’m getting more booze.  You two aren’t entirely drunk enough yet.”  Michonne hopped off the stool and hurried off.

“You sure you’re ok?” Carol asked, feeling a little flushed, her head swimming as some loud country song started playing and some drunk chick whooped and hollered nearby, hopping up on her table to dance.

“Clearly not as good as she is,” Daryl snickered.  Carol laughed then.  “But I’m good.  Wasn’t gonna work out with Sadie.”

“I’m sorry.”

“M’not,” he shrugged.  “What about you?  You ok?”

“Are you kidding?” Carol asked.  “I’m starting over.  Tonight, I’m a whole new me.”

“I like the old you.”

“Well, good, because I’ve decided that I’m giving up on men.”

“So, you gonna start dating girls now?”

“Shut up,” she snorted.  “What if I did?”

“Then some lucky guy’s gonna miss out,” he murmured, reaching over to take the Jack and coke as soon as Rosita brought it over.  It had slid so quickly off of his lips that it had almost passed Carol right on by, but she froze the moment his eyes met hers as he took a gulp of his drink.  Deciding that it was the liquor making her hang onto these words, she shrugged it off and took a deep breath.

“No, I’m just going to be me for a while.  Just me.  No men.  Apparently I have the worst taste in men imaginable, so I’m going to not date and see what happens.”  She eyed him, a grin spreading over her face.

“What?”

“Your track record’s not so hot either.”

“What’re you talkin’ bout?  I get plenty of dates.”

“Yeah, because you look like you do,” she said with a grin, “but it’s over after what, one?  Two dates?  What about the sex?  The sex any good?”

“You askin’ for you or…”  He wiggled his eyebrows at her, taking another big gulp.

“No, I’m just saying…I know you.  You tend not to call half of them back after the first date.  Those who are lucky enough to get a second date with you rarely get a third call back.  Sadie got, what, four dates?  That’s unusual.”

“Well, I ain’t sleepin’ with ‘em and not callin’ ‘em if that’s what you’re askin’,” he shot back, a little bit harshly.

“I didn’t…I wasn’t saying that.  I just…I’m curious.”

“I don’t wanna waste my time if it ain’t gonna work out,” he said with a shrug, sucking back another gulp of his drink. 

“How can you possibly know it isn’t going to work out after one or two dates?” Carol asked, her eyebrow quirking up in amusement.  “Either your taste in women is exceptionally bad, or you’re just the pickiest man on the planet.”  She watched him shift uncomfortably on his seat for a moment, before he tapped his fingers on the table.

“You don’t know me,” he muttered.

“Yeah, keep telling yourself that,” she said with a grin and a little wink.   Daryl shrugged and drank down the last of his beverage.  “Maybe we should both swear off relationships for a while.”

“Maybe we should just date each other,” he snorted.  Carol was just sucking down another shot she’d taken from the center of the table when she nearly choked. 

“What?” she sputtered.

“I…I was kiddin’,” he offered.  “Just…we know each other better’n most people.  We might be able to figure out why the hell you attract cheaters, and I can’t seem to find a girl I can hold a conversation with for more’n five minutes.”  He handed her a napkin to wipe her mouth with.  She dabbed at her lips before crumpling the paper up and placing it on the table.  Then she stared at him.  “What?”

“You know,” she said with a little smile.  “You might be onto something, Daryl Dixon.”  She watched as his Adam’s apple bobbed when he swallowed the anxiety that immediately flooded his gut.  Michonne sighed, plopping down on the bar stood between them and passing another Jack and coke to Daryl and a fruity little drink with an umbrella to Carol. 

“So?  I miss anything good?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed it! Let me know what you think!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Michonne’s apartment was about six blocks from Axel’s, so it wasn’t a long drive home.  By the time they arrived, Carol was in her giggly, touchy-feely phase of drunkenness, while Daryl was quiet, and, well, seemed to really be enjoying how touchy Carol was. 

“Alright, it’s later than I thought,” Michonne murmured, flipping on the overhead light as they walked through the door.  “I’ll have to save the Jell-o shots for some other night, because I’m exhausted, and the last thing I want to do is mop puke up off the bathroom floor in the morning.”  She eyed them both.  “So if either of you pukes in my bathroom, you sure as hell better aim for the toilet.”

“Thanks for the lovely imagery,” Carol giggled, moving to collapse on Michonne’s couch.

“You realize there’s a guest room, right?”

“I’m fine here,” Carol murmured, closing her eyes and toeing off her shoes.  “Daryl can have the bedroom.  I don’t think I can move.  The room is spinning.”

“Scoot over,” he mumbled, pushing her feet aside.  She lifted her legs a little, and he slumped down on the couch, only to groan when she let her legs fall into his laps.  Michonne eyed them both, a smirk playing over her lips.

“What?” Carol asked, tossing a pillow across the room at her.

“You two have fun now,” she said with a smile.

“Oh shush,” Carol snorted.

“I’ll leave the hall light on so you two don’t break your necks trying to get to the bathroom.  There’s bottled water in the fridge, but I swear to God, you two better not get into the Jell-o shots without me.”

“Scouts honor,” Daryl promised.

“You were a scout?”

“Nah, just somethin’ people say,” he said with a shrug, getting a laugh out of Carol.

“God, you two are adorable.  Anybody ever tell you that?”

“Stop,” Daryl snorted, as Michonne turned and headed down the hall.  Carol yawned and wriggled on the couch, and Daryl leaned his head back, staring at the ceiling.  “You’re right.  Room’s spinnin’.”

“Mmm.” 

“How much did you drink?”

“I lost count,” Carol admitted.  “You?”

“After that third Jack and coke?  Don’t remember,” he snorted.  Carol sighed, closing her eyes when she felt Daryl’s hands on her feet.  She laughed when he pulled her socks off and started squeezing her feet and toes firmly in his calloused hands.  But soon, the ticklish sensation subsided, and it just felt good.

“Daryl?”

“Mmm.”

“Why did you string Sadie along for four dates?”

“Didn’t string her along,” he muttered gruffly.

“So you _were_ sleeping with her?”

“What?” Daryl asked.  He didn’t let go of her feet.  “No.  Didn’t sleep with her.”

“Then why?” she asked, propping herself up slightly on her elbows. 

“What’s it matter?”

“I’m just curious,” she said with a little smile.  Daryl sighed and ran his palm over his face.

“Dunno.  She was nice.  She was pretty.  She didn’t get bored when I talked about work.  She liked motorcycles.”

“So you kept her along, because she wasn’t bored by you?” Carol asked with a snort.

“Guess so,” he said with a shrug.

“I don’t get it,” Carol said quietly.  “You’re very straight.  I’ve seen the collection of magazines in your apartment.”  Daryl’s face went red.  “What?!  You keep them in the bathroom, Daryl.  You’re in there for more than two minutes, you’re going to notice.”

“Shit,” he grumbled.

“Plus, I’ve seen you check out Michonne’s ass on more than one occasion.  And last Sunday when I wore that low-cut top, you couldn’t stop staring at the girls.  So…what’s up?”  Daryl’s face was now an embarrassingly dark shade of red, and he began to scratch nervously at his neck.  “How long?”

“What?”

“How long’s it been?”

“Since?”

“You know,” Carol said with a grin, her eyelids a little heavy from the alcohol, a little heavy from sleepiness, but there was something else there.  A desire.  Daryl felt a pull in his groin, and he swallowed hard, squeezing his pant legs in his fingers.  “How long?”

“How long for you?”

“God,” Carol snorted.  “Six...no…eight months.”

“Jesus,” Daryl mumbled.  “And you ain’t climbin’ the walls?”

“I have a _very_ good vibrator,” she announced.

“Aw, fuck.  I didn’t need to know that,” he groaned, despite the fact that his dick twitched in his jeans. 

“Now, your turn,” she laughed. 

“Dunno.”

“Oh, come on.  I told you.  Now spill.”

“Shit.  Alright.  Maybe six months.  Seven?”

“You’re lying.”

“No I ain’t.”

“Seriously?  What about…that…Libby.”

“Liddy,” he reminded her.  “And no.”

“Wow.”

“Surprises ya?”  He glanced at Carol, who was lying back against the couch again, running her fingers through her short hair, grinning like crazy. 

“It does, actually.  I would have thought…if anybody…you’d have been with her.”

“Maybe she wasn’t my type.”

“I don’t even know your type,” Carol admitted.  “You’ve never dated the same kind of woman twice.”  She made a face at him.  “Trying out all the flavors before you make your choice?  It’s not Baskin Robins, you know.”  Daryl was sweating now.  “But, I guess, you guys have it easy.  You go without sex, you can just use your hand, and it’s just as good.”

“Ain’t just as good,” Daryl muttered.   He sighed heavily, closing his eyes as he leaned his head back.  When he felt the couch shift, he turned his head and opened his eyes to see Carol adjusting herself, pulling her legs off of his lap and underneath her, leaning toward him a little bit.  “What?”

“Maybe we should talk about what we were talking about at the bar?”

“That was several drinks ago,” he admitted, though he knew exactly what she was talking about.  Carol narrowed her eyes at him for a moment, cocking her head to the side.

“You’re one of my best friends,” she murmured, reaching out to swipe a strand of hair out of his face.  “And I trust you completely.”

“What’re you doin’?”

“Just thinking,” she murmured, mouth parting slightly as the tip of her tongue poked out to wet her dry lips.  She began to move toward him, and he scooted back slightly, angling his body toward hers.

“You’re drunk.”

“So are you,” she mused with a grin, her eyes twinkling as her gaze shifted toward his lips.

“C…Carol, what’re you doin’?”

“I don’t know,” she admitted.  “Just keep thinking about what you said.”

“I was jokin’.”

“Were you really?” she asked.  He looked away for a moment.  “We do know each other.  Maybe…maybe we should give up on dating for a while.  Maybe we could…I don’t know…maybe it’s crazy, but maybe it would work.”  She cocked her head to the side, and she could almost see his pulse throbbing in the vein that popped out from his neck. 

“What’re you suggesting?”

“I don’t know,” she said again, moving her hand to rest on his chest.  “We’ve been friends for a long time.”

“Yeah.”  His mouth was suddenly watering, even though his throat felt like he’d swallowed a bucket of sand.

“Maybe we should.  Date each other.  I mean, for a month.”

“A month?”

“Yeah.  Maybe we can help each other figure out exactly what it is that’s keeping us from having successful relationships.”  Daryl felt his heart quicken in his chest, and he swallowed hard.

“But…we…we can’t do that.”

“We can’t,” Carol said quietly, chewing her bottom lip. 

“We’d need…”

“Boundaries,” Carol finished for him. 

“Like…no sex,” Daryl offered.  “’Cause that would get…I mean…we’re friends.  That would just…”

“Complicate things?” Carol offered, getting a nod in agreement from Daryl.  “Maybe.”  She moved closer. 

“You’re…really drunk.”

“I’m not that drunk,” she said with a smile.  “And…”  She leaned closer, lowering her gaze to his lips again.  “Just so you know, I stare sometimes, too.” 

“So…” Daryl murmured, his head swimming as the blood rushed directly away from his brain, “sex is on the table?”

“Well, if we’re dating…maybe we should make it worth it for both of us.”  She licked her lips then, and he groaned.  “You’re my best friend, and I trust you.  Do you trust me?”  He nodded, his mouth opening but unable to form words just then.  “One month?  See if we can figure out what’s wrong with each other, hmm?  What do you say?”

“Fuck,” he murmured, his fingers trembling as her fingers curled into his shirt.  “So we’re just…helpin’ each other out, then?”

“Scratching an itch,” she offered.  And that was all it took to get him to bridge the gap, bringing his hand to the back of her neck and pulling her against him.  His eyes locked on hers for half a second before her mouth came crashing down on his.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everybody who left feedback on the first chapter. :) I hope you continue to read, and please let me know what you think!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

No way in hell was she going to lie to herself. She’d thought about kissing Daryl.  A lot.  She’d been faithful in her marriage to Ed, but when things had started to go downhill, she’d grown closer to Daryl, and her thoughts had just begun to wander naturally on their own.  There had been many nights when Ed was ‘out of town on business’ or ‘working late at the office’ when she’d be home alone, thinking, and her mind would wander to Daryl.  And then her hand would wander to the box under her side of the bed where her trusty vibrator was hidden.  In the months since she’d kicked Ed out of the house, she’d been thinking even more about Daryl, about how it would feel to have his lips pressed against hers, his hands all over her body, his dick inside of her.  He was her friend, yes, but somehow, sometime during the last several months, she’d started thinking of him differently.  And the thoughts and fantasies had nothing on the reality.  His mouth on hers was like gasoline on a fire.

Carol’s head fell back against the couch cushion, as Daryl’s hands made quick work of skimming under her shirt, fingers grazing over the soft skin on her belly.  She moaned against his mouth, whimpering softly at the sensation of his hands on her.  He pulled back a little, and she chased his mouth, claiming his lips with her own, threading her fingers through his hair, holding him there, moaning as his tongue sought entrance into her mouth. 

They were friends, but God, this felt good.  It felt right.  Tomorrow might be different, but right now, there was no stopping where this was going. 

Carol sucked in a sharp breath the moment Daryl’s hand cupped her breast through the fabric of her bra  She scraped her teeth over his bottom lip, letting go of it, letting him pull back to look into her eyes.

“You sure ‘bout this?”

“No,” she panted, chest heaving as she sat up, quickly discarding the shirt over head.  Daryl blinked a few times, adjusting to the sight of his best friend lying under him, breasts barely covered by the thin, lace bra.  He could see her nipples, hard and dark against the pale lace, and he bent forward, licking a line from the hollow of her throat to the curve of one breast, palming and squeezing one while he traced his tongue along the edge of the lace, reveling in the taste of the salt on her skin.  She bit her lip, arching back and pushing herself into his mouth.  He grazed over her nipple, biting through the fabric just enough to get a moan out of her.  Then he pulled back.

“You say the word, I’ll stop.”

“Don’t stop.  Just…oh _fuck_.”  Her hips met his, feeling the bulge from his straining erection.  “Daryl, just…”  He moved his hips, the friction nearly undoing them both.  She wrapped one arm around his neck, crying out softly as he thrust against her again. 

A bolt of heat throbbed at her core, and she felt breathless as his hands moved down her waist and gripped her hips, grinding his hips against hers.  Then her hands were gripping his shirt, tugging it up, and her mouth was on his stomach, and he bit back a groan when her tongue darted out to trace up his sternum.  As he tossed the shirt over his head, her hands gripped his shoulders, and she sucked a nipple between her teeth.

“Fuck, Carol,” he groaned, as one of her hands boldly moved down his chest and gripped his dick through his jeans.  His hips jerked forward, and she managed to wriggle out from under him, standing on shaky legs as the room spun around her. 

“Come on,” she panted, reaching her hand out and helping him up.  She led him down the well-lit hallway to the guest room, a room she’d stayed in countless times before, and once they were inside, she was on him again, pressing his back against the door as she found the light switched and flipped it on.  His hands moved up her back, fingers working at the clasp of her bra.  Her mouth was hot against his chest, her tongue swirling over one nipple and then the other, and when he finally worked her bra open, she wasted no time sliding it down her arms.  It fell to the floor, and she swiftly kicked it away, stepping back a little, as his gaze roved over her. 

“Think our friendship might be ruined,” he snorted, getting a grin out of her.

“Nope,” she murmured, running her hands up his chest and over his arms.  “Not ours.  Friends first.  Nothing changes that.” 

“Thought we were gonna set some boundaries here.”  She kissed him again.

“Mmmrrrfff morning,” she murmured against his mouth, falling backward as the backs of her knees came in contact with the bed.  She tugged on his arm, bringing him down over her, and he chuckled, sucking at her neck as he pressed his leg between hers, feeling the heat from her core radiating through his jeans.

“Christ, you’re hot,” he grunted, moving his hand down to press against her center.  “Been thinkin’ ‘bout this for years.”

“Yeah?” she asked, hands moving over his chest as he trailed down her body, pressing kisses down her neck before settling to suck one of her nipples into his mouth.  She sucked in a sharp breath, putting a little pressure on the back of his neck with her fingertips, encouraging him as his tongue and teeth worked in unison, the sensation tying directly to her throbbing core.  “God, Daryl!”  Her hands moved down his shoulders then and around to his front, stroking over his bare abdomen before resting at the button of his jeans.  She began to pull, freeing the button with ease before she zipped down and slid her hand into his jeans, grabbing his cock firmly in her hands.  He groaned against her breast, his hot breath warming her skin as she began stroking him from base to head. 

“Goddamn,” he grunted out, thrusting his hips against her hand as she stroked him.

“You have anything?” she panted.

“Wallet,” he groaned.  “Fuck.”  Carol let go of him then, and he nearly toppled forward.  Bringing himself to his knees on the bed, he reached into his pocket, grabbing the wallet and fishing into the back of it for the single condom.  “Take your pants off.”

“Thought you’d never ask,” she giggled, wriggling out from under him, standing on her knees in front of him, one arm wrapping around his neck while her free hand moved to the button on her own jeans.  She kissed him, tongue against tongue, teeth scraping together, as his hands moved to her waist, helping her.  Once she was unzipped, she grabbed his wrist, urging him to touch her.  He snaked his hand into the front of her panties, feeling her slick heat around his fingers.  He groaned at the feeling, and she went limp against him for a moment as his fingers circled her pert little bud.  He was gentle, but his fingers were calloused, and it was the best thing she’d felt in long time.  “Daryl.  Unnngh….”  She bit out her cries against his shoulder, tongue darting out to taste him. 

She reached into his pants again, stroking him, and he pulled back, his eyes dark, mouth parted, hungry.  She gasped softly as she looked into his eyes, and his hands immediately went to her hips.

“Need you.  Now,” he groaned.  She said nothing, only turned in the bed in front of him, shucking her jeans and panties down far enough down her thighs to give him access.  One strong arm came around her middle, pulling her ass flush against his groin.  He shoved his jeans and underwear down past his ass, ripped open the condom wrapper and slid the rubber over his cock.  He gripped himself at the base, pushing against her just enough to test the waters.  She bit her lip, moaning, rocking her hips back, urging him to fuck her. 

“Please,” she whimpered.  “Daryl…”

“What do you want?” he asked, stroking his dick with one hand, reaching around to stroke her clit with the other.  She bucked against his hand, hands gripping the sheets on the bed under her. 

“I want you to fuck me,” she panted.  He grunted then, moving his hand over her stomach and up the side of one breast, over the back of her neck and down the curve of her spine, sending a blaze of heat in the wake of his touches.  He pressed into her then, just a little, pushing the boundaries, hearing her moan as the head of his dick stretched at her entrance.  She bucked backward a little, and he kept his grip firm, unyielding, teasing her, pulling back to earn himself a growl out of her. 

“What do you need?” he asked, pushing two fingers inside of her to her relief.  He felt her walls clench around him, and he couldn’t wait to feel that vice grip on his cock.

“I need you to fuck me!” she insisted in a hoarse whisper.  “Hard.  And don’t fucking stop.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he chuckled, gripping her hips with both hands before thrusting home.  He nearly collapsed against her at the sensation of being buried inside of her, of her walls stretching and squeezing around him, of her body trembling as she gasped for breath. 

He pulled back, almost all the way out before slamming forward, and she met his thrust by bucking into him, crying out at the feeling of him filling her so perfectly.  She whimpered, gripping the sheets between her fingers as he started to move, setting a brisk pace, gripping her hips so hard she wondered if she’d have bruises later.  She bit her cries out against the pillow before arching back, finding purchase against his arm, squeezing hard as she angled her body up, and his arm came around to rest around her ribs, holding her back to his chest as he fucked her.  His lips were on her neck, and his breath was hot against her ear. 

“Feel so good,” he grunted, moving a hand down to rub against her clit as he thrust upward, feeling his knees growing weak with the effort.  Her head lolled forward, and her breathing hitched in her chest.  He kissed the back of her neck then, and he felt her shiver.  “You gonna come for me?”

“Daryl,” she murmured, scratching at his arm with her nails.  “I’m…oh…fuck.”  She bent forward again, gripping the mattress as her knees shunted against the mattress.  She held on tight, seeing stars as she squeezed her eyes shut tightly. Her walls clenched around him, and as his fingers found her clit once again, she felt that sweet release wash over her. 

When she came, her arms buckled under her, and she lay against the mattress with her ass raised high in the air.  He gripped her tightly, stroking her through her orgasm until her fluttering muscles triggered his own.  And when he came, he shuddered against her, his body tipping over hers as he collapsed, gasping for breath beside her on the bed. 

She faced downward, he faced the ceiling, and both of them felt like their limbs were made of jelly. 

Finally, she rolled onto her back, wriggling her hips as she worked to slide her jeans back up over her ass.  Daryl lay there, his dick flaccid against his thigh, condom hanging halfway off now as his own jeans rode halfway down his legs. 

“Jesus Christ,” he panted, as he slid the condom off and dropped it into the wastebasket next to the bed, making a mental note to get rid of it before he left tomorrow. 

“Yeah,” she panted, her own hand sliding down her chest and over her breast. 

“What the hell are we gonna do?” he asked, turning his face toward hers, watching as she closed her eyes and bit her lip as she came down from her high. 

“Can we talk about it in the morning?” she asked.

“Mmm,” he grunted. 

“Ok,” she whispered softly.  “Um…I should go.”

“You don’t have to.”

“No…no, I do.  It’s better this way.”

“You ok?”

“I’m great,” she said with a chuckle, sitting up in the bed and placing a kiss to his lips.  He wanted to reach for her, wanted to ask her to stay, but something stopped him.  This look in her eyes, begging him not to push.  “Thank you.  This was…”

“Yeah.  It was,” he murmured, collapsing back against the bed again, reaching down to pull his jeans back up his hips, stuffing himself back inside. 

“We’ll talk in the morning,” she promised.  “And then we’ll figure out where you’re taking me on our first date.”  She pulled herself off the bed, quickly finding her bra and sliding it back on.  Daryl watched with disappointment as she turned, flashed him a quick smile and hurried out the door, shutting it behind herself. 

He collapsed against the bed again, running his fingers through his hair, trying to put together everything that had transpired that night.  But all he could do was feel the loss of her in his bed.  He wanted her there.  Wanted her beside him. But they were just friends.  Friends having sex.  Apparently, it was what she wanted, and he could get on board, but he knew that when that month was over, he wasn’t going to be ready. 

Just as he was pondering getting up to go after her, the door opened, and he looked up expectantly.  She smiled at him before tossing something his direction.  It was his shirt.

“You might get cold,” she offered.  “Good night.”  She slipped out of sight.

“Carol?” he called.  She poked her head back in.

“Yeah?”

“You sure we’re good?”

“We’re great,” she promised.  “Night.”  She flashed him that gorgeous smile and disappeared, shutting the door in her wake.

He rolled onto his stomach, burying his face into the pillow and trying not to think about it.  About her.  She was his best friend, and they’d crossed a line tonight, and he didn’t know about her, but for him, he wasn’t sure there was going to be any going back after this month was through, but he would sure as hell try if it was what she wanted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry if Chapter 2 was bad. :( Hopefully this one makes up for it?


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Michonne smirked when Carol came padding into the kitchen and pushed a hot cup of coffee toward her on the counter. 

“You look amazing,” Michonne teased, pointing to Carol’s hair, which was standing up in about twelve different directions.  “How’s that hangover?”

“Hmm,” Carol grumbled, taking a sip of the hot beverage.  “God, that’s good.”

“Oh, that sounds familiar,” Michonne said, sitting down across from her at the island counter.  Carol closed her eyes, savoring the taste of coffee on her tongue as the warmth filled her belly.  “Where have I heard that before?”  Michonne tapped the side of her coffee cup, her manicured nails clicking against the porcelain.  “Oh, that’s right, when you and Daryl were going at it in my guest room last night.”  Carol choked, covering her mouth and nose with her hand, blinking a few times before widening her eyes at her friend.  “Oh, don’t get me wrong, I’m not mad.  I was hoping that would finally happen.  You two have been eye-fucking each other for months now.”

“Michonne!” Carol reprimanded.  “What…”

“I walked past the guest room, and Daryl was snoring away.  You must have worn him out.” 

“Oh my God,” Carol groaned, putting the coffee cup down and covering her face with her hands.  “Oh God.”

“You don’t have to give me an encore.  I remember how it went.”

“Shut up,” Carol snapped, as Michonne snorted and took another sip of her coffee. 

“All I can say is, it’s about damned time.”  Carol shot her a look.  “Or was that not the first time?  Has this been going on already?”

“No,” Carol mumbled, staring down into her coffee cup. “Last night was the first time.”

“So there’s going to be a next time?”  When she looked up at her friend, Michonne reminded her of a kid at Christmas.

“We have a…thing,” Carol commented.  “We haven’t worked out the details of it yet.”

“There are details?” Michonne asked, raising an eyebrow.  “Ok.  Tell me more.”

“We’ve decided to date each other for a month.”

“A month?  Why a month?”

“Well, it sounded like a good idea when he mentioned it last night, but that was in the middle of all the drinking, and, well, we got home last night, and it sounded like a _really_ good idea.”

“So…this was a drunken mistaken, or are you guys really going to do this?”

“I don’t know,” Carol admitted.  “I…I really don’t know.  God.  It’s Daryl.  And, it felt so right, and I don’t know what I was thinking agreeing to this. All I know is that I had a lot of fun last night, and it meant a hell of a lot more to me than it should have.”

“Then march your hung-over ass into that bedroom and tell him that,” Michonne replied, pointing toward the hall.

“I can’t do that,” Carol muttered.

“Why the hell not?”

“Because.  He’s my friend.  One of my best friends.  And…”

“And you two clearly want each other enough to sleep together after a few drinks.  So what’s the problem?”  She placed her hands on her hips.

“I don’t…I can’t…I just got divorced.”

“And?”

“And I don’t know what Daryl wants.”

“So?”

“So, we’re taking this month to help each other.”

“As…fuck buddies?”

“No!  Well, not just…no.   There has to be boundaries.”

“What boundaries?  You guys had sex last night.  I’d say you crossed all the boundaries there are.”

“No,” Carol replied with a sigh, “look, it’s complicated.”

“It’s a pain in the ass is what it is.  You guys want each other, so why not just…be together?  Not just for a month.”  Carol groaned, burying her face in her hands again.  “Oh, you’re impossible!”

“No, look.  We’re friends, and we’re attracted to each other, and we can be friends that have sex without there being…”

“But you just said…you want  more, don’t you?”

“I don’t know,” Carol replied honestly.  “I love him.  I mean…he’s been an amazing friend, but I never thought of him that way until…until…”

“Until you realized your marriage was on the way out the front door and you got closer to your best guy friend and realized that everything you’ve ever wanted might be right under your nose?”

“Maybe my thoughts just went there, because Daryl’s safe?  Maybe I’m just not opening myself up enough to other possibilities.”  Little did the girls know that Daryl had woken and had made his way down the hallway, only to freeze when he heard them talking.  “Maybe sleeping with Daryl was just a way to finally get over Ed and to prepare myself to finally start dating again.” 

Daryl felt like somebody had knocked the wind out of him. 

“So, this was, what, a rebound thing?”

“Maybe,” Carol murmured.  Daryl turned quickly, heading back down the hall.  He’d heard enough.  If that was all it was to her, it would just have to be all it was to him.  If she was in this for a month, he could be too, and he’d just have to accept that when it was all over, when it was all said and done, he was going to have to let her go.

“Really?”

“No,” Carol replied.  “It’s not…it makes it sound cheap.  It’s not just a rebound thing.  The way he looks at me sometimes?  I just…it drives me crazy.  And I look at him, and I want him, and I think ‘what if?’  But what scares me the most is losing him as a friend.  So that’s why…the month.  Thirty days of this, and at the end, we stay friends.  We figure out what the hell is wrong with each other, why we can’t be happy or find people that make us happy, and then we just…we just move on.”

“This is twisted,” Michonne said with a shake of her head.  “I love you both so much, and I’m telling you right now that one month isn’t going to cut it.  You might think you can walk out of this without hurting anybody, but somebody’s going to get hurt.” 

“I trust him, and I hope he trusts me.  Maybe we can help each other find what we’ve been missing.”

“You guys are ridiculous.  I can tell you right now that what you’ve been missing is each other.”

“Oh, stop.  Don’t say those things.  Not unless you _know_ it’s true.  Daryl gets…bored.  Easily.  Maybe he’s attracted to me, but that isn’t going to cut it in the long run.  Attraction only goes so far.  He needs somebody who excites him, who he can spend more than four dates with.”

“And what about you?  What do you need?”

“Maybe I don’t really know anymore,” Carol sighed. 

“But would it be so bad if what you need is Daryl?” Michonne asked with a hopeful smile.  A little grin spread over Carol’s face before she looked over her shoulder and sighed.  She looked back at her friend and frowned.

“I can do this.  One month and then…who knows?”

*~*~*~

“You ok?” Carol asked quietly, as she opened up the door to her apartment, stepping inside with Daryl following right behind.

“M’good,” he said with a nod, ducking his head slightly. 

“Have a seat.”  She tossed her purse and her keys on the end table next to the couch.  “We have a lot to talk about.”  Daryl nodded, sitting down, keeping his eyes on her as she sat down next to him.

“Feel like I’m in the principal’s office,” he admitted.  Carol grinned at him. 

“Ok.  So.  Boundaries.”

“Yeah?”

“First of all, we need to make sure we’re going to do this.  One month.  Just us.”

“I’m game,” he said with a shrug, looking away briefly. 

“Are you sure?  Daryl, this could be a terrible idea.”  She chewed her lip.  “We were drunk, and we could just chalk it up to…”

“A stupid, drunken mistake?” he offered.

“Exactly.  Or, we could accept the challenge.  Try and…fix each other.”

“Maybe we ain’t broke.  Maybe we just think we are,” he said with a shrug.  Carol eyed him for a moment, a sad smile playing over her lips.  “What?”

“Nothing.”  She cleared her throat.  “So, we do this, and in thirty days, we, what?  Go back?”

“To being just friends,” Daryl said quietly.  “If that’s what you want.”

“Isn’t it what you want?”

“What I want,” Daryl said with a dry laugh.  “Ain’t this what this whole experiment’s all about?  We don’t know what the hell we want.”  Carol smiled a little. 

“So we should set up boundaries.”

“Like what?  We can have sex but not sleep in the same bed?”

“Exactly.  That’ll just confuse things.”

“Maybe.”

“Do you want…do you want to sleep in the same bed?”

“It’ll get pretty tiring driving back and forth between all the sex we’re gonna have,” Daryl teased her.  Carol snorted, feeling a little more at ease now.  This was what she loved.  This easy feeling, this laid-back knowing that she was with her best friend and everything would be ok.  The last thing she wanted was to lose that.

“Alright, then,” she sighed.  “No boundaries.  We’re in this.  All in this.  For a month.”  Daryl nodded.  “And we don’t let it affect our friendship.  Friendship comes first, and if…if anything starts to get…weird or somebody starts to get hurt, we stop.”

“We stop,” he said quietly, swallowing back his worries and his dread for the end of their thirty days.  “Thirty days, and then…”

“Then we’ll see.”  She leaned over toward him, placing her hand against his chest.  “Daryl?”

“Yeah?”

“Are we…are we being stupid here?”  He blinked at her a little bit.  “Michonne said something.  She…”

“What?”  He licked his lip as her fingers curled into his shirt.  His gaze bore into hers, and her shoulders slumped.  She started to open her mouth, but instead, she got up off of the couch. 

“Come on.”

“What?”

“I don’t know about you, but I could use a shower.  You want to join me…friend?”  Her tone changed considerably, and she made sure her hips swayed a little more than usual as she started down the hallway.  Daryl considered it for all of .03 seconds before he was chasing her down the hallway and tackling her against the bathroom door. 

It could be amazing, or it could go down in flames, but whatever happened, they were sure as hell going to have fun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everybody who left feedback on the last chapter! :) Hope you enjoy this one! Let me know what you think. :)


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

What started out as a shower had turned into something more within about thirty seconds.  The moment Carol’s hand grazed over his rock hard dick, Daryl had her pinned against the shower wall, claiming her mouth with his own.  She giggled against his mouth, but the laughter soon faded when her hand closed around him and began to pump him, the warm water slicking his skin and making the sensation even better.  A groan escaped him when Carol looked down, licking her lips. 

“What do you want?” she asked softly, pressing her lips against his as she gave him a squeeze.  Her eyes flickered with desire and a devilish gleam, and he about lost it then.  “Hmm?  You gonna tell me?”  Her lips pouted a little, and he leaned in with a growl, sucking her lower lip between his teeth, giving it a little tug.  “You better tell me now, or the opportunity might pass you by.”  He growled in frustration, bending down to suck a nipple into his mouth.  She gasped softly, arching back against the tiled wall, fingers curling into his hair and tightening.  “Daryl…”  He couldn’t get enough of her.  The way she tasted, the way she smelled, the way her voice broke when his fingers slid through her folds, pressing into her, circling her clit.  She was intoxicating.

 _Just a rebound.  She’s just scratching an itch.  Don’t get too comfortable, Dixon.  She’s not gonna want this when the month’s over_. 

“Hey.  Hey.”  Daryl realized he’d stopped touching her and was simply staring now, and she reached up, stroking his face.  “Where’d you go?”  His hands tightened at her hips, and the grin returned to her face.  “Tell me.”

“I want to taste you,” he groaned.  She shivered then, her eyes staring into his, watching the way his pupils dilated, the way his nostrils flared, the way his face grew red as he struggled for breath.  Suddenly, she felt her heart begin to race, and she wrapped her arms around his neck.

“Ok, let’s get this over with,” she murmured.  “I’ve had tests every month since I found out Ed was cheating, and I’m clean.  And I’m on the pill.”  Daryl cocked his eyebrow up, and she made a face.  “Don’t look so surprised.  I wasn’t screwing around on Ed, if that’s what you’re thinking.  I didn’t want kids with him.”   She shrugged.  “And I _really_ didn’t want kids with him after I found out he was screwing around on me.”   

“Alright,” Daryl murmured.

“And you?”

“Did the no sex for six or seven months not tell you anything?” Daryl asked with a smirk.  Carol pursed her lips, tightening her grip on his shoulders.  “M’clean.  Don’t have no rubbers though, so we might need to stock up on those.”  Carol nodded, worrying her lip between her teeth.

“Ok.  Good.  We can worry about that later.  I’m not worried right now.  Are you?”

“No,” he groaned, when her fingers closed around his dick again.

“Perfect,” she sighed.  And then his mouth was on her neck again, and she was gripping his shoulders as he moved down to his knees.  She reached out, grabbing onto the metal bar by the soap holder.  Her other hand found purchase in his hair at the back of his head as his tongue circled her navel.  A whimper escaped her lips, and his gaze focused on hers as he draped her leg over his shoulder. 

“Been wantin’ this for a long time.”  Carol groaned, the words going straight from his lips to her pussy, making her throb.  “Wanted you from the second I saw you, but I told myself it’d never happen.  Couldn’t happen.  Fuck, you smell so good.”  He dipped one finger into her folds, stroking her for a moment before he replaced the digit with his tongue. 

“Oh, _fuck_ , Daryl!”  Her feet nearly slipped against the shower floor, but he kept a strong hold on her hips, circling her clit with his tongue as she grabbed his hair.  His tongue probed her folds before entering her, tasting her and lapping her up with his mouth.  She tasted like heaven, and he couldn’t get enough. 

One of his hands moved from her hip to her thigh, squeezing her there as he drank her in.  She moaned, back slamming against the shower wall again as he brought her over the edge within minutes.  Her juices coated his chin when he looked up at her with a grin, and she panted softly, wiping the hair out of his face as the shower stream poured over him.

“How the hell are you still single?” she gasped, bringing her hand up her chest and up her neck, feeling her pulse throbbing there as she struggled to relax.  He stood, his legs a bit shaky as he kissed his way up her body, and when his mouth was on hers, she moaned, tasting herself on his tongue, finding it to be one of the most erotic experiences she’d ever had.  Just as she was reaching for his dick, the water stream cooled considerably, and she yelped. “Damn it.”  She cut the water off quickly.  “I keep meaning to have the super replace that fucking water heater.”  She sighed, resting her forehead against his shoulder.

“S’alright.  Let’s get outta here.”  Carol gave him a soft kiss then, and it felt like a thank you.  He brought his hand down her back and over her ass, pulling her close against him before she squirmed out of his arms and stepped out of the shower, toweling off.  He came out after her, standing there with his dick still rock hard, bouncing proudly as he stepped toward her.  She looked down at him hungrily, a need building up inside of her faster than she could process her own thoughts.  She moved then, using the towel to stroke down his dripping chest, bringing one hand around to caress his muscular shoulders and back.  She gave his ass a little squeeze before letting the towel drop on the floor at their feet.  She looked down innocently, pouting her lips again.

“Oops.”  Before he knew what hit him, she was on her knees, taking him into her mouth, and he nearly fell back against the toilet.  But he found purchase on the bathroom sink, gripping it for dear life as Carol licked him from base to tip, swirling around the head before taking him into her hot mouth.  It hadn’t taken much, and when he felt his balls begin to tighten, he groaned, alerting her that he was about to come.  His eyes screwed shut, and he waited for her to move, waited for her to back away, but she didn’t, and to his surprise, she took him into her mouth again, and within moments, he let go, and she swallowed him down, every drop. 

“Jesus,” he groaned, slumping against the sink as Carol stood, filling the gap between his arms and wiping the corner of her mouth with her thumb. “You’re amazing.” 

“Thanks for noticing,” she said with a grin.  “Come on.  I’ll make us some breakfast.”

“Just not donuts,” he replied, managing a sense of humor while he struggled for breath.

“You ass,” she smirked.  “I see Michonne’s been talking.”  He couldn’t help the sleepy grin that spread over his face.  God, she was perfect.  Out of every single sexual experience he’d ever had, everything he’d done with Carol in the last ten hours ranked highest on the list.  They were supposed to fix each other, but how the hell was he supposed to fix her when she was pretty fucking perfect already?

*~*~*~*

So,” she murmured, slumping onto the couch next to him wearing nothing but a t-shirt and a pair of panties.  He sat there in his boxers, and they both kind of stared at each other.  Breakfast had been awkward as hell after oral sex in the bathroom, but they’d managed to eat a little bit of something before moving into the living room.

“So what?” he asked tiredly, as she draped her legs over his and leaned back against the opposite arm of the couch. 

“Any constructive criticism?”

“For what?”

“Anything.”

“Your breakfast or the blow job?” Daryl asked with a smirk.  Carol snorted and shrugged.

“Hey, we’re supposed to be honest with each other.”

“It was good.”

“The breakfast or the blow job?”

“Both,” he choked out. 

“Well, that’s good to know,” she mused. 

“What about me?  What did I do wrong?”  The words were a bit cutting, and he probably hadn’t meant them to be, but they shook her nonetheless.  “Sorry.  Didn’t mean that to sound like it did.”

“It’s ok.  Maybe we…maybe we should try this from another approach.”

“Alright.”

“We had sex.”  Daryl nodded slowly at Carol’s words.  “Why’d you have sex with me, but not those other girls?”

“We goin’ over this again?” he grunted.

“Hey, I only have thirty days to help you.”

“Help me so I can get laid after this is over?  Don’t need help there, thanks.  I can get laid if I want.”

“Not just to get laid,” she laughed.  “We’re trying to help each other find the right person.  I don’t need another Ed, and you just need somebody that doesn’t bore you to death.”  His hands grabbed her feet and began to squeeze them.  She sighed softly, leaning back against the pillow. 

“Guess I was just comfortable with you.  Felt right,” he said with a shrug.  “You know me better’n most people do.  And it ain’t like I haven’t thought about it.”  He eyed her.  “What about you?  Well, shit, I know why.” 

“Why?”

“Nothin’.  Forget it.”  _Fuck. Fuck you and your stupid, big mouth, Dixon.  Now you’ve gone and fucked it up._

“Daryl.”

“It’s nothin’.”

“Why do you think I slept with you?”  _Tell her it’s because of the agreement.  Tell her anything.  Just don’t tell her what you heard.  For the love of fuck, don’t tell her what you heard._

“It’s a rebound thing.  You’re movin’ on from Ed.”  Carol’s eyes went wide, and Daryl’s face fell.  “Fuck.”

“You heard me talking to Michonne.”

“I heard,” he muttered.  “Look, I get it.  Ain’t nobody expectin’ you to shack up with the first guy you fuck after your divorce.  I was there, and it was, what, convenient?”

“Daryl.  No…that’s not what…”

“Look, it’s fine.”

“No!  It’s not fine.  This whole thing was your idea in the first place.”

“I was jokin’.”

“Were you?” she asked, shaking her head.  “Daryl, you’re my best friend, and I love you, and the last thing I want is for either of us to be confused about this.  I think we made a mistake, here.”  She started to scramble up off the couch.

“Wait.”  He grabbed for her hand, giving her a little tug until she toppled onto him, resting against him.  His hand moved down her back, and she sighed heavily. 

“Stop.  We shouldn’t be doing this.”

“I’ll stop,” he promised, moving his hand away.  “But you gotta know something.  I ain’t gonna do this for thirty days without you knowin’, ‘specially if I’m s’posed to give you up at the end.”

“Daryl?”

“You ever stop to think that maybe the reason I didn’t sleep with those women was ‘cause they weren’t you?”

“You wouldn’t be saying that right now if we hadn’t had sex yesterday.”

“How the hell do you know?” he muttered.  “Shit.  You think I started thinkin’ these things about you yesterday ‘cause you weren’t married to Ed anymore?  Been thinkin’ ‘bout you for a long time, but I told myself we was friends, and that’s all we could be.”  Carol took a deep breath, propping herself up a little bit.  “Look, m’sorry if this fucks everything up.”

“Daryl,” she murmured, “I’m sorry.”

“Sorry, ‘cause you don’t feel the same?”

“I don’t…I don’t know what I feel.  I just…you’re saying these things, and I just…I didn’t think...God.”  She scrambled off of him, and he sighed heavily, running his fingers through his hair as he watched her begin to pace in front of him. 

“Stop.  Don’t do that,” he groaned.  “You do this, and you’re gonna freak out, and…”

“I can’t help it,” she snapped.  “This was a bad idea.  This was an awful idea.  Let’s just stop this.  Now.  We’re friends, Daryl.”

“Maybe I don’t wanna be just friends,” he replied, getting up off of the couch and moving to put his hands on her shoulders.  “Maybe I want these thirty days and then thirty more days after that.  Maybe…”

“Please don’t,” she murmured, shaking her head.  “It’s too much.”  Daryl sighed nodding his head and backing away.

“Alright,” he replied.  “You’re right.  It was a bad idea.  M’sorry I got drunk and thought of it.”  He headed off toward the back of the apartment to gather his clothes, and Carol stood in the middle of the living room, heart pounding in her chest as she let the words sink in. 

Finally, her feet began to work, and she started after Daryl, who was in the middle of gathering his clothes up off the floor.

“I’m not ready,” she murmured from the doorway, startling him.  He turned around, dropping the pile of clothes at his feet.  “I _just_ got divorced, and maybe this is a little bit of a rebound thing, and maybe I’m just a little bit stupid for going into this with you, because you and Michonne are all I’ve got.  You’re my best friends, and I might have just fucked everything up.  But...it’s not just you.  I’ve been having feelings, and maybe I thought this was one way to indulge those feelings without anybody having to get hurt.  Maybe _this_ is why I’m divorced.  Because I’m too fucking selfish to think of anything but…” 

“You’re divorced, ‘cause your husband was a cheating piece of shit, and I ain’t gonna lie.  I hope he gets hit by a bus.  You got a right to be a little selfish right now.  And maybe I’m the idiot for tellin’ you right now that the only reason I never took it very far with those other women is ‘cause they weren’t the ones I wanted to talk to. After one date, all I wanted to do was call you and tell _you_ how fuckin’ miserable it was, ‘cause you always knew what to say.  I wanted to talk to you.  On those dates, all I could think about was how I couldn’t get home to call you and tell you.”  Carol sighed softly, sniffling as the urge to cry hit her like a tidal wave.

Daryl moved out into the hall, and she turned, following him back into the living room.

“What about Sadie?”

“What about her?”

“You told Michonne you weren’t sleeping with Sadie.  You always told me about your dates, but not her.   Why?”  Daryl looked away for only a moment before he gathered up the nerve to look her in the eye again.

“You wanna know the real reason I kept Sadie around?  I ain’t proud of it, but it’s the God’s honest truth.  I kept her around, ‘cause I thought that maybe I could make myself fall in love with her.  Thought that if I had somebody, anybody, I’d stop thinkin’ about you all the goddamned time.”  He froze then, watching the way her lips parted, and then she took a step back.

“Oh,” she murmured.

“So, now you know.  That’s what’s wrong with me.  Can’t keep a relationship with a woman, ‘cause none of ‘em are you.”  Carol took a deep breath, looking away for a moment, searching for words and coming up blanket.  “Look.  I’ll take thirty days.  I’ll take one day.  I’ll take five seconds if that’s all you wanna give me, ‘cause it’s something, and if you don’t want the same when this is over, I’ll understand.”

“No.  I’m not doing that to you,” Carol murmured, turning her back to him, facing the door, beginning to pace again.  He came up behind her then, placing his hands on her shoulders.

“Then we stop.  We stop right now.  ‘Cause the last thing I wanna do is make you go crazy worryin’ that you’re gonna hurt me.”

“We stop,” she whispered, as his hands put pressure on her shoulders, and she turned to face him.  “We stop.”  Daryl swallowed hard, nodding his head. 

“I’ll go. I’ll call you later, and we can just laugh about this and forget it happened, alright?”  He watched her take a step backward at his words, nodding in stunned silence.  “Don’t worry.  We’ll be alright.  Promise.”  He reached out, giving her shoulder a squeeze, before he moved to head back to the bathroom to retrieve his clothes. 

He felt like somebody had beat him over the head, punched him in the stomach and kicked his puppy all at the same time.  It wasn’t supposed to hurt like this.  They were nothing but friends.  That was all they were ever supposed to be, so why’d he have to go and fucking ruin a good thing by telling her exactly what he shouldn’t have said, exactly what she didn’t want to hear? 

He pulled his clothes on faster than he ever had in his entire life, and he started out of the bathroom, startling when he found her leaning against the hall by the door.  He looked at her for a moment, searching her eyes for something, anything.  And then he gave up, turned and headed toward the living room to leave.

“Hey,” she murmured, as he reached the door. He turned to see her walking toward him, a purpose in her eyes, her hands wringing together nervously as she stepped closer to him.

“You don’t have to say anything.  We’re going back.  It’s done.  It’s ok.” 

“Daryl,” she murmured quietly, “stop.”  He stopped, sighing, fighting the urge to grab her then and there and beg her to love him and stay with him forever, because God, he was feeling it, and he wanted her to feel it, too. 

“You don’t want me.  It’s ok.  I get it.  You ain’t lookin’ for a boyfriend.  You ain’t lookin’ for a husband.  You’re lookin’ for fun, and I could give you that, but we already fucked things up enough for one lifetime.  It was my idea.  Was my fault.  M’sorry.”

“No,” she said with a shake of her head.

“We’re going back,” he promised.  “It’s ok.  We’re going back.”

“Daryl,” she interrupted, placing one hand against his chest.  “I don’t want to go back.”  Daryl sighed heavily, shoulders slumping then. 

“What do you want?”

“I don’t know,” she admitted.  “I don’t know what I want, but I didn’t know how you felt before, and that…it changes things.”

“It don’t have to,” he said with a shrug.  “You don’t gotta force yourself to feel that way ‘bout me.”

“I’m not,” she said with a shake of her head.  “I’m just a little thrown.  But I…I want to try.”

“Try what?”

“Dating.  You.  For real.  And not just for thirty days.”  Her hands shook as she brought her arms around his neck, and his arms slipped around her waist.  “Would that be ok?” 

“You kiddin’?” he asked with a snort.  She grinned at his answer.

“But you have to promise me one thing.”

“Alright.”

“We’re friends first.  That doesn’t change.  I don’t want you acting weird around me, and I don’t want to feel weird around you.  We’ve seen each other naked.  We’ve had sex.  But we’re still friends, and I want to know that I can still talk to you and laugh at you and that you can laugh at me, and we don’t have to feel weird about it. And I want us to do what we promised we’d do.  We talk to each other about what pisses us off.  If you do something stupid, I want to be able to tell you you’re a jackass, and if I do something, don’t be afraid to call me out on my bullshit. Deal?”

“Deal,” he said with a grin, pulling her in close, kissing her softly.  When he pulled back, the grin widened across his face.

“What?” she asked, cocking her head to the side, running one finger down his jaw. 

“Kinda hungry again.  Wanna make me some of those shitty donuts Michonne’s told me all about?”

“I hate you,” she laughed, pushing at his chest as he gave her ass a squeeze.  Then she was wriggling out of his arms and turning to head back down the hall. 

“Where you goin’?”

“I might be able to cook up something even better in here,” she teased with a nod toward the bedroom. 

“No condoms.”

“Oh, you have a lot to learn.  There are _plenty_ of other things we can do.  No condoms required.”  Daryl raised an eyebrow, and Carol grinned.  Oh, this was going to be fun.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Michonne yawned as she stepped through the door at Carol’s apartment.

“We just saw each other, what, six hours ago?  What’s the emergency that you couldn’t tell me over the phone?”

“Daryl went to the drugstore,” Carol replied. 

“I’ll alert the Associated Press,” Michonne grumbled.

“For condoms.”

“Ok.”

“Because we’re going to date.”

“I know,” Michonne said with an eyeroll. 

“Change of plans.  We’re going to date.  And not just for a month.  We’re going to…you know.  Try.”  Michonne was silent for a moment, before a grin spread over her face.

“Well, it’s about damned time,” she said with a sigh, throwing herself onto the couch, as Carol joined her, getting in typical girl-talk position.  “So, what happened?”

“I guess he heard us talking this morning, and he heard the wrong things.  But he…he told me he has feelings for me.”

“Yeah, I knew that.”

“And how he only dated Sadie, because he thought maybe it would make him forget about me.”

“Yeah, I knew that, too.”

“Then why didn’t you tell me?!”

“Because it wasn’t my thing to tell,” Michonne shrugged.  “That would be like peeking at the Oscar winner’s name in the envelope before it’s announced.  So?  Was it romantic?  Was it…”

“Well, it kind of happened after some shower sex.”

“Oh, that’s the best kind of sex,” Michone groaned.  “And?  Was it…good?”  She watched the blush fill Carol’s cheeks, and she knew.  “God, I hate you both right now.  So, give a girl some details.  I’m not getting _any_ right now.”

“It was…God, I haven’t been with anybody but Ed in so long, I’d forgotten what _good_ sex was supposed to feel like.  And he wanted me, Mich.  And I just…I can’t understand it.”

“Stop that,” Michonne warned.  “Don’t go there.”  Carol sighed, nodding her head.  “Ed did a fucking number on you, and the best thing you ever did was kick him to the curb.”

“I’m just scared.  I’m scared, because it’s happening so fast, and I want it to happen, and so does he, but at the same time, we could completely screw this up and lose this friendship that I’ve counted on so much in the past several months.  We promised we wouldn’t let it hurt our friendship.”

“But sometimes you can’t avoid it,” Michonne replied.  “It’s a scary thing, but God, you two have no idea how perfect you are for each other.  He’s in love with you.”

“No he’s not.  Did he say that to you?”

“No,” Michonne replied, “but it’s obvious.  And you’re in love with him.”  Carol looked away.  “And you know it’s true, because you can’t even deny it.”

“We just started this…this thing.”

“Oh, honey,” Michonne said with a grin, placing her hand over Carol’s, “it didn’t just start.  It started the second the two of you met.  It grew when you started looking at each other differently.  And then last night, it all came to a head.”  Michonne snickered at her semi-dirty-sounding choice of words.

“Why didn’t you tell me all of this?  Could have saved us all a lot of trouble,” Carol replied with a little smile.  Michonne shook her head. 

“So, I want details.”

“Do you really?”

“I do.”

“I shouldn’t,” Carol said with a shake of her head. 

“Hey, I’ve had to sit through hours of you guys talking about each other, sit through awkward moments where you were eye-fucking each other without the other knowing.  I think I deserve a little bit of info.  I’m living vicariously through you.  Now spill.”  Carol laughed at that, shaking her head.

“All I’ll say is that...I’m pretty sure last night was the best sex I’ve ever had.”

“God,” Michonne groaned.  “How did it happen?  Did it happen by accident, or did you tackle him the second I went to bed?”

“We talked, actually,” Carol laughed.  “We talked for a while, and one thing led to another.  My memory of it is a little fuzzy, but I remember more than enough, and God, it was just…it was like Christmas, my birthday and Mardi Gras at the same time.”  Michonne’s eyebrows rose high, and she let out a little giggle.  “But it was more than just sex, because it was sex with Daryl, and that made it even more amazing, somehow.  And there was a moment of guilt, because I thought, God, what did we do?  He’s one of my best friends, and I’m completely fucking this up.  We talked this morning, and he just…he told me.  It happened so fast.”

“Not for me,” Michonne replied.  “Daryl’s told me things he couldn’t tell you, because he was just as afraid of ruining your friendship as you were.  I’m telling you, that man loves the hell out of you.”  Carol flinched then, and she took a deep breath.  “Don’t do that.”

“Do what?”

“Don’t freak out.  Because you might be coming out of a shitty marriage, but Daryl Dixon is no Ed Peletier.  Daryl’s as loyal as an old dog.  He’s not gonna hurt you like that.  Mark my words.  He’s not just in this for the sex.  The man loves you.  Trust me.  I have a sixth sense about these kind of things.”

*~*~*~*

When Daryl arrived back at Carol’s apartment, Michonne was gone, and Carol was snuggled up under a blanket on the couch.  He held up the brown paper bag when he walked through the door, and Carol raised her eyebrows.

“It took you two hours to buy condoms?” she asked, sitting up on the couch and throwing the blanket off of herself.  Daryl tossed the bag at her, and she opened it up, raising her eyebrows, clearly impressed.  “That’s quite a selection.”

“Didn’t know exactly what kind, so…”

“So you bought all of them?”  She giggled when he blushed, and she tugged his hand to get him to sit down next to her on the couch.  “I’m sure we’ll find good use for them.”  Daryl smirked at that, and Carol moved to lay back, propping her feet up on the arm rest and resting her head on his lap.  She looked up as he looked down, and he ran his hand over the top of her head. 

“You tired?”

“Mmm, a little,” she admitted.  “Where are you taking me tonight?”

“Where do you take a woman on the first date when you’ve already had sex and taken a shower together?”

“That’s a really good question.  You up to the challenge of figuring that out, Dixon?”  She winked at him, moving her hand up to his face, scratching her fingers gently over his stubble.

“C’mere,” he murmured, encouraging her to sit up, which she did, and then he was tugging her toward him.  She straddled his hips with her knees and wrapped her arms around his neck.  Sighing softly, she smiled as she stared into his eyes, and he grinned at her, running his hands down her back and over her ass.  “Can’t get enough of you.”

“Good.”  She kissed him quickly.  “Now neither one of us has to work today, because if I remember correctly, it’s…Saturday.”  A grin pulled up at Daryl’s lips at the prospect of having her for the whole weekend.  “Whatever could we do to pass the time until our date tonight?”  She pursed her lips, humming innocently, and Daryl’s hands squeezed at her thighs. 

“Think I could think of a couple things,” he chuckled, nuzzling her neck, pressing kisses along her collarbone.

“Thank God,” she murmured, squealing when Daryl flipped her onto her back on the couch and crawled over her.  “I was thinking exactly the same thing.”  His hands immediately pulled at her shorts, dragging them down her hips.  She giggled, as his tongue lashed against her collarbone.  He sucked gently there, getting a moan out of her as they worked her shorts off of her legs together.  He began to kiss down her neck and down her stomach before lifting up her shirt, pulling it up slowly as he kissed his way from the top of her panties up over her stomach and her sternum.  She shifted upward and yanked her shirt over her head.  With a sigh, she closed her eyes when his mouth latched around one nipple, and his hand teased the other breast, rolling the nipple into a hard little bud.

She gasped when a jolt went from her breast straight to her core, and he tugged a little harder. 

“Oh, fuck,” she gasped, as one of his hands moved down between her legs, rubbing her through the thin, cotton material of her panties.   “Daryl!”  All she could think about since last night had been the feel of him buried deep inside of her, of his dick stretching her in the most delicious way.  Oh, the oral sex had been amazing.  Mind-blowing, even, but nothing compared to being joined with him, of feeling their bodies slamming together as they fucked.

He couldn’t get comfortable on that couch, so without warning, he broke away from her, standing up, dick straining hard against his pants.  He was panting now, looking down at her as she lay in nothing but her panties, neck and chest blushing as crimson as her cheeks.

“What?” she panted.  “Get back here.”  He chuckled, kneeling in front of the couch, grabbing her legs and turning her so she sat with her ass at the edge of the seat.  “What’re you doing?”  He said nothing, only gripped the edge of her panties and yanked, pulling them down her thighs as she lifted up to let him.  He tossed the garment over his shoulders, and he lifted her legs over his shoulder, scooting in and pressing his face against her stomach.  “Oh….God.”  She rolled her head back against the couch as he began to kiss his way down her stomach.  Her ankles locked together behind his back at the first brush of his tongue against her clit.

He nudged his nose against her curls as he swept his tongue around her folds.  Her thighs squeezed around his ears just enough to let him know she was feeling good.  Her nails digging into his shoulders would be the other indication.  It wasn’t long before she was whimpering and moaning as he pressed his tongue inside of her, circling her clit with his tongue as he made her squirm.

He was rock hard, and it hurt so bad he couldn’t wait to be buried inside of her.  He couldn’t wait to look into her eyes as he sank into her and see the way he made her feel.  He wanted her to see it, too.  He wanted her to see how being with her was everything he’d ever hoped for. 

“Daryl,” she cried out.  “I’m gonna… _ohh…_ ”  Her hips bucked against his face involuntarily, and in moments, she came, and he lapped up every bit of the sticky fluid, brushing his lips over the insides of her thighs before he pulled back.  She collapsed against the couch, and it didn’t take much for him to yank her off of the couch cushions and onto him, rolling her so she lay on the floor.  He discarded his pants quickly, and Carol quirked an eye up at how fast he slid out of his boxers, hard and waiting for her.  She reached for him, ready to return the favor, but he brushed her hand away and reached for the brown paper drugstore bag.  “Can’t wait.  Fuck, I gotta be inside you.” 

He reached into the bag and pulled out a condom, quickly opening it and rolling it onto his dick.  Carol raised an eyebrow as she watched him give his own balls a little squeeze before he lined up.  She spread her legs a little, giving him more room as he pushed into her, filling her completely, hip to hip as he buried his face against her neck, groaning his pleasure at the feeling of her walls squeezing round him.

“Fuck,” he hissed out, huffing a hot breath against her neck as her legs wrapped around his hips.  “Carol…”  She groaned, wriggling her hips to urge him to move, and when he did, she threaded her fingers into his hair, holding him tight as his mouth latched over her breast.  She bit her lip, arching into his mouth as he sucked her nipple, and she relished in the sweet ache of her body adjusting to him, welcoming him as they found a matching rhythm. 

She released his hair with one hand, moving that hand down her body and between her legs, stroking her clit as he fucked her, and she closed her eyes, mouth falling open in a stifled cry as she flew toward her peak. 

“Open your eyes,” he commanded, straining over her as he held himself up on either side of her head.  She did as he asked, staring into his eyes, watching the way his pupils dilated, the way he grit his teeth as he forced his orgasm off as long as he could to make sure she got hers first.  _What a gentleman._

It didn’t take long.  A few deep thrusts, his mouth on her breast and her own fingers circling her clit, and she was trembling under him, crying out his name as she went over the edge.  Her fingers tightened in his hair, and he let go, slamming into her until he collapsed against her, panting hard as he fought for breath 

“God,” he groaned, sliding out of her and rolling onto his back.  “Can’t believe we only just started doin’ this now.”

“I was married,” she panted, a chuckle escaping her lips.

“Still,” he groaned, “ain’t never felt like that with nobody else.”  Carol smiled a little, curling up against him, burying her face against his neck.

“Me neither,” she admitted, closing her eyes and letting out a soft hum in exhaustion, yawning and fighting off the urge to drift off.

“Better not fall asleep.  Might not make it to our date tonight,” Daryl teased, her, rubbing her bare shoulder as she curled into him.

“That’s ok,” she murmured against his skin.  “We can always have our first date right here.  Who needs a fancy restaurant, anyway?  I have wine and potato chips.”

“Sounds good,” he snorted, before they both began to laugh.


End file.
